Your Anti-Inflammation Diet
Naturally,
you want to avoid anything that undermines this healing process by feeding the
inflammation. That’s why you must do your best to eliminate, or at least
substantially reduce, two highly destructive substances from your diet: sugar
and trans-fatty acids. Both are powerful promoters
of inflammation.
If your
fascia is already inflamed—and let me tell you, if you have pain, it is—and you
eat these pro-inflammatory foods, you will exacerbate that inflammation. It’s
like fanning the flames of a fire. I see many people eating sugar, fried foods,
potato chips—and then they wonder why they’re in pain. Your goal is to quell
the inflammation, not add fuel to the fire.
Reduce Sugar
Notice I
don’t insist that you eliminate sugar totally. It would be great if you could,
but I’m being realistic. Sugar is deeply embedded in our lives. It’s
everywhere, hidden in unexpected foodstuffs such as tomato sauce, mayonnaise,
and sauerkraut, and it’s a big part of the rituals surrounding meals and
social exchanges (e.g., serving a luscious dessert, bringing candy to a
hostess). More to the point, we love it. Sugar is a truly addictive substance,
no easier to quit than nicotine. Even cutting down on it is tough. So to
bolster your resolve, consider whether the pleasure of that muffin in the
morning is really worth suffering pain for. Or that bowl of granola (even
“health food” cereals are full of sweetener)? Or that piece of cheesecake or
glass of juice? Measure your enjoyment of these treats against your desire to
get rid of your pain, and see which weighs heavier in the scale.
Sugar
undermines the pain-relieving power of the Ming Method by attaching to the
proteins in fascia, triggering a chemical reaction that makes these proteins
stiff and tough—the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve with the
stretches. If this stiffening process goes on for a long time, the body
views the affected tissue as foreign and attacks it, leading to an inflammatory
reaction.
Harden
your resolve, go through your cupboards, and toss out everything that looks
like cookies, doughnuts, cakes, soda, and juice (even health food juices). All
these products have sky-high sugar content. If you must have fruit, eat whole
fruit, which includes fiber, the way nature intended you to eat
it. But avoid bananas and grapes, which have the highest sugar content of all
fruit. (Never eat fruit that’s frozen or packed in cans, which usually has
sugar added to it.)
Yes, it’s
hard to live without dessert. But you don’t have to. I do my dessert shopping
in the health food store, finding products that use healthier sugar
substitutes. See the sidebar for a list of acceptable sweeteners. Instead of a
muffin or Danish in the morning, try a small bowl of organic oatmeal with a few
drops of stevia and about a dozen chopped organic almonds or walnuts. Not only
will you spare your body some inflammation-promoting sugar, you’ll get real
nutrition that will keep you going until lunch, without needing a sugary snack
at 11 A.M.
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